Just a word now and then about working in a prison and for the Department Of Corrections. Plus a good bit of ranting here and there.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Puddles

Remember back when a puddle was alot of fun? Remember when just seeing a puddle made a smile come to your face because you knew you could while away an entire afternoon playing in it?

Hell, my mind is so juvenile that it really hasn't been all that long ago for me.

But nowadays, not so much. Especially when the puddles are still forming around me.

Like today, for example. The rain started this morning and continue pretty much all day long. Nothing wild. Not a toad strangler or one of those tarantula downpours. Just a steady soaking drizzly rain that just went on and on.

And of course, being Thursday, it's my night on the yard and my night to do the Del Norte walk three quarters of the way around the camp.

And of course, you can't do the walk until late in the evening when the yards close. It was about seven-ish tonight. We'd already been in and out of the rain for three and a half hours and we were all pretty wet.

I came to the realization that there's a big difference between water resistant and waterproof.

My boots and raincoat are water resistant. No part of my ensemble is waterproof. And my jacket is nothing but a sponge, waiting to soak up as much water as it can get.

The walk begins with a short wade through Lake Sallyport and on up the hill. You get to stay pretty dry until you reach the bottom of the hill (about zones 11 and 12) where you get to wade through a couple of interesting swamps. Some kind soul set out cinder blocks to step on across the swamps. They are effective if the water does not come over the top of them.

Yeah.

And I discovered that there is a hole in the middle of the lower sallyport that is just a tad deeper than my boots are tall. I'm walking across the sallyport to hit my last zone and Model A sticks his head out the window of the shack and says "Wet enough for ya?" I look over and nod and wave and Goosh! Into the water I step. And I said "Aw fracklllrrrrjjj" or something like that. Luckily for me I had the whole rest of the long zone to walk up and back and goosh the water back out of my boot.

By the time I get back on the yard three people have told me that we had a fight at six house. I delayed as long as I could getting back, but there was nothing for it. As soon as I told Sarge I was back, he sent me to six house to escort one of the lockups down to the Hive.

In theory they two houses are practically next door to each other. But you have to walk the inmate all they way up to medical to get checked before taking them back down to the Hive, so you effectively doubled your walk out in the rain. And inmates never walk quickly unless it's for their own benefit. If they think that walking slowly will make you angry or miserable, they will walk as slow as they can, even if it is making them miserable too.

When I stated my escort the inmate looked at me and said "And how was your night?" in kind of a snarky sort of way. I said "I'm soaking wet and my boots are full of water. I'm tired and wet and uncomfortable and pissed off. Is there going to be a problem?"

He just ducked his head down and said "No problems." And there weren't.

But despite being soaking wet and uncomfortable, we had a pretty good night. Me and Goosey and Sgt Uncle T spent the last hour of the night up in our new shack playing music trivia. So we managed to end the night on an upbeat feeling rather than just blah. Not bad.

But I found out this afternoon that Peggy Sue is going to be leaving us. Going to another job in the camp up north of here. That is really good news for her and really sucky news for us.

5 comments:

I'm going to miss you, too. I've had a blast for the past 4 1/2 years. Even the bad times were tolerable because I could always count on you for a laugh or a hug. I'm sure I'll be back from time to time. And I'll keep following the blog to see what you're up to. I've been at 5 institutions in my 12 years and this one is far and away the hardest one to leave. I am truly going to miss all you guys. Take care of each other, be safe and share a laugh in my honor every now and then.

Hmmm...May I suggest investing in some good waterPROOF gear? :) Just a thought. I think I remember reading other posts where you had the same problem. Oh and send some of that rain our way. We need it.

Misty- While I am on vacation this week I am going to be getting a pair of rain pants to keep my legs dry And a can of scotchguard to hose my jacket down with. It's about the best I can do and still be wearing a regulation uniform. And you can have all the rain you want. Free.

#1 Canadian Fan- KP is right, as usual. But then he usually is. I have been actually thinking about doing a post about the nicknames. They usually come from an outstanding trait or hobby or something. Miz Trees is actually little bitty, but her and her hubby own a tree farm. When I grow up, I want to be a tree farmer.